“Paul’s bass playing is so lyrical and melodic, and it’s just so beautiful”: Flea on McCartney

Flea has named the person he thinks is the "greatest rock bass player", and some might see it as a slightly surprising choice for a man whose name is most closely associated with funk and out-and-out rock.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers man appeared on Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson’s podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Name (I wonder where they got the inspiration for that title from?) and he got talking about Paul McCartney, whose bass playing skills are often overshadowed by his songwriting and the immense weight of his achievements whilst part of the Beatles.

“I think Paul’s the greatest rock bass player,” Flea said. “He’s just great. I mean, there are so many guys that are great in different ways, but Paul’s bass playing is so lyrical and melodic, and it’s just so beautiful. One of the things I’ve heard is that he put the bass on after. A band like mine, the bass sometimes the song starts with basslines, so coming first, or the music comes first.”

He continued: “Whereas I think Paul and John and George when they wrote songs and Paul would do the bass. And after multitracking came in, at the beginning of them, they just went and played live and would do it after, like ‘Sgt Pepper’s, the melody is already there. So then he’s doing, like a counter melody, so the bass is like a melody as opposed to just rhythm, and that’s amazing. He’s amazing.”

Separately, Flea took to Twitter/X and a propos of nothing named his favourite female rock singer in a single sentence: “Chrissie Hynde is the greatest female rock singer of all time.”

The Chili Peppers played to their biggest ever audience on Sunday night when they were part of the Olympics closing ceremony. Their 2002 hit By The Way was heard as Tom Cruise took the Olympic flag from the Stade De France and was seen roaring through the streets of Paris on his motorbike. Then, when the flag – through the magic of television – appeared in Los Angeles seconds later, the action moved to a live gig at Venice Beach where the band played Can’t Stop before handing over to fellow Los Angeles artists Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg.